PHOTO BY JOEL BARHAMAND, GROOMING BY JANICE KINJO, LOCATION: SUMMERLY AT THE HOXTON, WILLIAMSBURG, BROOKLYN
Age: 33
Origins: Guatemala City, Guatemala. “I grew up going down ravines and climbing volcanoes with my buddies, but I also spent a lot of time alone as a kid, in my garden with my dog. My daydreams were so big and so vivid. Guatemala’s forests and going out into the countryside were really meaningful for my imagination.”
Where you’ve seen him: In Broad City, as Ilana’s roommate, Jaimé; in season three of Narcos, as David
Rodríguez, the son of Cali cartel leader Miguel Rodríguez Orejuela.
Moment of Clarity: “The first time I was on stage, I was 4 years old and there was this Christmas Carol sort of thing in Guatemala City’s big theater. I had a little bow tie on. It’s one of my first memories: seeing the audience and feeling like, Oh yeah, let’s rock and roll.”
Star Turn: Last month, Castro debuted Alternatino, a Comedy Central sketch show that offers a
hilarious and heartfelt examination of contemporary Latino identity. “I see what the stereotypical Latino is in media, and I’ve never felt like I identified with it—I’m not great at soccer, my dancing is subpar, spicy food and I don’t get along that well. I wanted to be true to what I feel. Everybody can relate to going on a first date or getting to a job and people thinking you’re something you’re not, and I wanted to build some empathy through that. If you see somebody who doesn’t look like you doing things you can relate to, then maybe next time you see them you’ll think, Well, we can’t be that different.”
Up Next: Playing Marco, one of the humans in the CGI and live-action adaptation of Lady and the Tramp (due out in November), and a soldier in the upcoming military drama Semper Fi. “I get cast in a lot of military films. Whenever we go through boot camp I’m like, ‘Sorry, when is the matcha break?’ And they’re like, ‘Shut the f*** up.’”
